Spirits of the Forest
by Warbreaker
Summary: Team 7 are sent out to the Land of Forests on a request from the village of San Yamanokami to deal with strange disappearances. What was thought to be a straightforward case becomes something far more complex and these incidents are all linked to a much darker plot.


**Spirits of the Forest**

**Chapter 1**

Sakura and Kakashi step onto a pier connected to the city's main harbour. Even in the cool early morning the port is lively, passengers trickle on and off transport boats and totter off in the direction of the city, sailors and traders holler at each other, loading barrels of goods in preparation for departure.

"Ara! How beautiful," Sakura exclaims "Such a nice day… shame we have to work. Hey Narut-"

She turns to find her teammate collapsed on the dock mumbling "Land… land!"

Kakashi and Sakura stare at him for a moment.

"Naruto! This is no time to be messing around, the mission hasn't even started!"

Kakashi begins walking down the pier.

"Ah-" Sakura chases after their captain, dragging along a temporarily defective Naruto.

The city of San Yamanokami sits beside the wide river Mizuchi, mountains covered by densely packed forests surround it on the other three sides. The village extends up the side of one mountain and underneath the opposite one, a wealth of gold and magnesium are mined. That and the harbour which gave birth to the towns fishing and shipping industries, make up the cities wealth.

Team 7 enter the city and the crowd begins to thicken as they approach the main market square. They attempt to navigate their way through the bustling mob and turn off onto a side street leading towards the San Yamanokami's Police Force department block. This town is not known for producing many talented shinobi and most of the police force is made up of ordinary citizens however the crime rate is low therefore they are not worried about the lack supernatural abilities to gain control.

Inside the department block, Team 7 are debriefed on the case by the Deputy Head of Security

"…these last 2 months there have been several missing people's cases and none have been found. We've hypothesized that these kidnappings are probably all linked, however we haven't gotten any proof to support this and well… I hate to admit it but we've hit a brick wall. We sent out a request to the neighbouring country Konoha in hopes that a skilled shinobi would be able to help solve this case…" The second-in-command glances at the two shinobi youths sceptically.

He passed the case file to Kakashi.

"That's all the information we have managed to gather on these incidents, but I'm afraid it won't be of much use to you…"

"I see…" muttered the Team Captain as he leafs through the pages "Then we'll begin work immediately, if you'll excuse us?"

* * *

Naruto saunters out of the building with his hands clasped behinds his head, yawning, he turns to his teammates who have just finished reading the report.

"Wow. There really is nothing here," Sakura complains "Were they even trying?"

Kakashi sighs and rubs the side of his head. "I guess we'll have to start from scratch, at least they have the names and addresses of the relations of those that have gone missing."

He hands Naruto and Sakura each a list of names. "We'll split up, find what we can and regroup back here at the station before nightfall… I'm afraid this may take longer than we initially thought it would."

"Yes Sir!" Sakura says and Naruto nods as if nonchalant but he is clearly restless to go.

Just as they turn to leave, Kakashi adds "Oh, and Naruto? Try not to do anything reckless." Sakura hums in accord while Naruto grins broadly.

* * *

Naruto exhales in frustration as he tries to cipher the address presented before him.

"Haa…" Scratching the back of his head, he squints up and down the street. _Man I should have gone with Sakura-chan…_

The perplexed shinobi approaches a passing villager, an old lady, in hopes to solve his dilemma.

"Hey Obaa-chan" This earns him more than a pause.

"Do you know where this address is?"

The old lady glares at the boy suspiciously but proceeds to examine the paper.

"Boy… you're in entirely the wrong sector" She stated.

"Ehhh?!" He stares at the sheet, does a full 360 scan of the area, then turns back to the old lady who scrutinizes him, as if trying to measure his idiocy.

She then lifts a quivering, wrinkled finger and points in the direction he came from. _Damn. _

"It'll be a couple of streets down before you reach the right area."

"Thanks Oba-cha-"

"Wait," She calls "Those names… If I a recall correctly they are the people who have gone missing recently."

"Hmm? Oh. Yeah, I'm trying to find them."

The old lady scoffs, "Ha? You?!" she manages to get through her fit of laughter.

"Hey Obaa-chan, do you know where they've gone?"

The lady's amusement dies away at the sound of the young man's sincerity.

"I… no boy I don't. But if I were you I wouldn't get myself mixed up in these dangerous matters."

Naruto begins to explain but she continues.

"They say that the Wanderer is the cause of the disappearances"

_Oh? _

The old lady turns and indicates to the third mountain opposite the river Mizuchi.

"Up 'ere is where he lives."

_At the summit of this mountain resides the largest tree in San Yamanokami, known as the great tree or the tree of gods by many in the town. They claim that a god lays in deep slumber within the tree. There is an old temple underneath this tree that was abandoned 40 years ago due to a fire that consumed the mountainside and half the city. The villagers believe it was the wraith of the gods, so now no one dares approach the temple in fear of angering them once again. _

"Showed up around two months ago did he, this Wanderer, 'bout the same time people started disappearing or so the story goes."

Naruto gazes up at this third mountain, the largest of the three.

"Not sure whether he's brave or just downright stupid to test the fury of the gods by livin' up 'ere"

Unmistakably, it gave off an overwhelming aura, but one he could not quite place. _Was it really the mountain or just because of what Obaa-chan said?_

"Mark my words boy, the forest spirits will soon strike us down 'cause of his foolishness"

Curious Naruto asks for more information about this Wanderer and the old lady tells him that he has a shop in one of the smaller markets and works as a prophet.

"No-one dares go near him," she explains "and the price he asks for is just a complete rip-off! But there have been some claims that his foresight is very accurate…"

* * *

Following the Obaa-chans directions Naruto sprints over to the small square and finds a market filled with stalls and people and noise. At the end of the street, there is a very small rundown shop. Wooden beams are splintered and frayed, nails are on the verge of popping out and the door appears to have been ripped off one of its hinges and leans sullenly against the frame. All this only makes the lavishly painted gold and black sign of "Moirai" stand out more. Everyone seems to avoid looking at it. A delicately painted "Closed" sign hangs from the handle of the door. He presses his face against the shop window and only darkness peers back at him.

Naruto asks a passing stranger when it will open again, the villager gives him a strange look and says he does not know; that this prophet does not work to any timetable.

"Probably only comes down when he runs out of food!" the villager sneers.

Then he warns Naruto that he should stay away from this crazed prophet, if he knew what was good for him.

Looking up at the sky, it must be an hour or so past midday, the team were to regroup before nightfall so Naruto, unable to contain his impatience, sets off towards the abandoned temple on top of the mountain.

* * *

Naruto journeys his way up the mountain following an overgrown and barely discernible path, arriving at the peak in less than an hour. As the "great tree" comes into view, he realises, calling it such would be an understatement - towering over the forest in a large opening stands this proud redwood, the bark is dark auburn in colour with black and grey scorches that twist up the trunk, no doubt from the fire. Otherwise the tree seemed relatively unharmed. It must be well above 300ft and a diameter of something like 40 ft. It could not be anything less than divine intervention for this tree to have grown here not to mention survived the great fire.

In the shadow of this god given creation squats an empty shell of what once was…

_Tall, bleach washed walls ringed with a blue barred pathway surround the whole shrine complex and three ornate gates of a rich, ebony timber mark the entrances, two on each side and the largest at the front. Behind, two pagodas soar high above the other structures, the tented roofs embellished with gold plating, polished to reflect the sunlight and wink at passing travellers. At the centre stands the main hall. With a wide base and five layers of curved roofs scaled with tiles of coppery blue, each level smaller than the next. Ornamental carvings swirl across the dark beams illuminated by the gold glazing on the underside and perimeter of each layer. The top is crowned with two gilded statues that face each other and embody the spirits of the forest. A splendour that was the pride of this town, who had spent the first of their newly mined gold, on this shrine in respect to their beloved tree and god._

The once immaculate ivory walls are now streaked with dust and smoke and the proud interior buildings of wood and décor are a blackened, charred mess. Yet in the wake of this destruction, life still continues, and the foliage grows wild to cover this divergent area. _Such was the will of the forest. The villagers had done well to remember that and now stayed far away lest they gave rise to the fury of the gods once again…_

Among this wreckage Naruto finds no sign of life and surveys the surrounding area, soon discovering the cemetery located at the back of the temple and a small outpost that was still intact, the new repairs were a telltale sign of a lodger. Approaching the dwelling with caution, he silently peers into a small window and sees a fireplace on the far side, a bed next to it and a plank of wood on two stools serve as a desk on the other side. No one seems to be home.

"Don't move" ice touches his throat, _a sword _he thought.


End file.
